Losing power can bring your business operations to a grinding halt. Without electricity, you can’t run equipment, process orders or keep the lights on. For some companies, even a minor power outage leads to significant revenue losses and disruption.
That’s why having a contingency plan for backup power is critical. Renting an industrial generator provides customizable, temporary power to keep your business up and running if the grid goes down. A modular, turn-key solution allows rapid deployment with minimal lead time, installation and permitting.
Why Rent an Industrial Generator?
Renting a generator offers flexibility and cost-savings compared to purchasing. With a rental:
- You only pay for the equipment when you need it. This saves money compared to owning a generator that sits unused most of the time. You avoid a major capital expenditure and get to use the generator precisely when required.
- You can get a generator delivered and running within hours or days, not weeks. Rental companies have large inventories available for quick deployment. This rapid response time gets your power back on promptly. If you owned the generator, lengthy shipping and setup would delay usage.
- The equipment is sized for your exact requirements. Rental providers offer a wide range of generator sizes to match your needs. You avoid over or under buying. Getting appropriately sized generators ensures you have adequate power without wasting money and capacity.
- Maintenance and fuel costs are handled by the rental company. They take care of all upkeep like oil changes, tune ups, part repairs and replacements. You also don’t have to deal with procuring fuel. This convenience allows you to focus on your business instead of generator care.
Renting also avoids major upfront capital investment. Purchasing generators, switchgear, cabling, and accessories can cost tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. With a rental, you convert this fixed cost into a flexible operating expense.
And you don’t need to maintain equipment you may rarely use. Since generators are only utilized during outages, they may sit unused for months or years. Rentals remove the headache of upkeep and finding storage space.
Customizable Power Solutions
Every business has unique power needs. Facilities have different load requirements based on their:
- Square footage
- Electrical systems
- Equipment
- Critical systems to maintain
That’s why a one-size-fits all generator won’t cut it. The optimal solution is a modular, turn-key industrial generator that can scale to your requirements.
Renting provides tailored systems to deliver reliable backup and standby power. Generators and accessories like distribution panels, transformers and fuel tanks can be combined as needed.
What is a Turn-Key Rental Generator?
A “turn-key” rental generator arrives at your facility ready to supply power. Also referred to as “plug-and-play,” it requires minimal time and effort to activate.
Rapid Deployment
Turn-key rental generators feature pre-assembled components mounted on trailers. This allows rapid mobilization to your site when you need emergency power.
They can be delivered, installed and running in less than 24 hours in most cases. Minimal site work and permitting is required since these generators are temporary. No facility modifications are needed either.
Multiple Fuel Options
Turn-key rentals offer flexible fuel choices including diesel, natural gas or propane to meet operational needs:
- Diesel – The most common fuel source due to widespread availability and on-board storage capability.
- Natural Gas – Utilizes existing natural gas infrastructure for low operating costs.
- Propane – Easy to transport and connect for short term use.
Fuel supply and planning are part of a complete temporary power solution.
When to Rent an Industrial Generator
There are many scenarios where renting an industrial generator makes sense.
Emergency Power
Local grid failures happen more often than one might expect. From severe storms, accidents, and simply overloaded transformers, the causes of outages are many. Backup generators play a critical role in maintaining power to essential operations when the lights go out. These generators provide electricity for:
- Safety systems – Emergency lighting, fire alarms, security systems
- Communications networks – Phone/internet connectivity to coordinate response
- Data centers – To prevent loss of vital digital records and information
- Production equipment – To avoid disruptions and damage to machinery
Rental generators offer a rapid response solution for emergency power needs until primary utility service can be restored. Rentals allow customized generator solutions without a large upfront capital investment. With quick delivery and setup, rental generators serve as an versatile emergency power safety net for many applications.
Planned Outages
You may also need scheduled supplemental power during planned grid outages. Utility companies and electrical infrastructure operators periodically need to conduct essential upgrade work, maintenance, and repairs to ensure the electrical grid keeps functioning properly. During these planned grid outages, relying on the grid for power will lead to disruptions for homes and businesses. Some examples of projects that require planned power outages include:
- Service upgrades – Upgrading transformers, poles, wiring, and other hardware to increase capacity and reliability of power delivery. This allows the grid to meet growing energy needs.
- Maintenance and repairs – Fixing, replacing, or servicing equipment like power lines, substations, and generators to avoid failures or accidents. Preventative maintenance minimizes unplanned outages.
- Electrical infrastructure projects – Large scale projects such as installing new smart meters, burying existing above-ground power lines, reconfiguring the distribution network, and more. These improvements take extensive work.
Renting generators for these planned events ensures you stay operational.
Peak Shaving
Some companies use rental generators for “peak shaving.” Peak shaving is the practice of reducing the amount of energy purchased from the grid during peak demand times. This helps reduce stress on the electrical grid infrastructure when electricity usage spikes to unusually high levels. Companies utilize peak shaving for several reasons:
- Reduces electrical load on the grid during periods of high demand such as:
- Hot summer days when air conditioning usage increases dramatically, causing electricity demand to spike as temperatures rise
- Frigid winter days when heating systems run continuously to keep buildings warm, driving up electricity usage
- Lowers total electricity costs by supplying some power needs internally rather than purchasing all electricity from the grid during expensive peak rate periods
- Enhances reliability of power supply in event of brownouts or blackouts on overloaded grids
Companies may utilize diesel or natural gas rental generator units sized to meet a portion of their facility’s peak load. The generators allow the company to temporarily reduce the amount of electricity drawn from the utility grid, while powering critical operations internally. This strategy shaves off demand peaks and saves money compared to solely relying on grid power at peak prices.
What to Look for in an Industrial Rental Provider
When choosing a rental provider, look for:
Experience
Select a vendor thoroughly familiar with industrial generators. They should have extensive knowledge and hands-on expertise with:
- Electrical fundamentals and calculations to properly size generators based on your facility’s load demand
- Proper generator setup and installation based on your requirements
- Compliance with relevant safety standards and regulations
This hands-on expertise ensures generators are correctly sized and hooked up to meet your needs while complying with regulations.
Inventory
The company should:
- Maintain a large, extensive rental inventory to fulfill any generator request or short-term rental need
- Stock a wide range of generator sizes from small portable to large industrial to meet diverse customer requirements
- Provide quick access to inventory, allowing rapid deployment when needed
- Offer additional related rental equipment like distribution panels, transformers, cables, and accessories to provide a complete temporary power solution
Having broad inventory depth and breadth readily on hand gives customers confidence they can get the equipment they need quickly.
Service Capability
End-to-end project coordination and service capabilities are essential when renting generators, including:
- Delivery, setup, inspection, testing and maintenance of rental generators
- 24/7 emergency service availability for generator issues during rentals
- Technicians to ensure proper generator operation throughout the rental period
- Management of generator refueling, coolant levels, and routine maintenance
These services ensure optimal generator performance to meet power demands and minimize customer inconvenience.
Compliance Expertise
The rental provider should have expertise to ensure regulatory compliance:
- Assist customers with permitting requirements for temporary generator use
- Manage required inspections from relevant electrical, environmental or safety agencies
- Ensure emission controls, noise mitigation, and safety mechanisms on generators meet latest regulations
This compliance assistance avoids violations or work stoppages. Their knowledge of the latest generator regulatory standards gives customers confidence in legal operation.
When comparing rental generator companies, don’t just focus on the daily or weekly rental rate. The total value comes from custom engineering solutions, rapid response and exceptional service.
Get Reliable Backup Power from the Experts
Losing power can devastate business operations and profitability. While a permanent backup generator is a major investment, rental solutions offer flexibility. When you need reliable electricity for a short or long term need, contact the experts.
JC Davis Rental has over 35 years of experience meeting customers’ portable and emergency power needs. Their extensive rental fleet includes industrial generators from 10 kW up to 2 megawatts.
JC Davis provides complete project coordination. This includes planning, delivery, installation, testing and fueling. They also offer 24 hour emergency service to keep your generator running.
Contact JC Davis Rental today for your modular, turn-key generator rental! Their team will customize the perfect power solution so you can keep your business up and running.
